History

In 1975, there was no network for dart organizations. But there were hotbeds of activity – in Philadelphia, New York, Cleveland, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Washington DC, New Jersey and Virginia. There may have been more, but these were the places that were known. And that was the crux of the matter.

Tom Fleetwood of Bellflower, CA and Ed McDevitt of Philadelphia had tossed around with others the idea of a national organization and decided this was the time to act. An invitation was sent to known organizations to attend an informal meeting to discuss the formation of the American Dart Organization. That meeting, held in conjunction with the Michigan Open Dart Tournament in Detroit that October, laid the foundation for the organization.

The ADO began operation January 1, 1976 with 30 charter member clubs and a membership of 7,500 players. Today, the ADO has a membership that averages 250 clubs on a yearly basis representing roughly 50,000 members.

Below is a “timeline”of accomplishments and landmark events in the ADO’s history.

1975

October 17, inaugural meeting

October 18, first ADO board meeting: dues, logo and operations established

First full year of operation with 30 member clubs and total of 7,500 members

Nodor became official dartboard of the ADO

First annual ADO Men’s All-Star playoffs held

1977

Incorporated in Massachusetts

First annual ADO Men’s World Masters Held

1978

First tournament calendar compiled

First Double Eagle published

Tournament sanctioning procedures adopted

Standard throwing distance of 7’9-1/4″ established by WDF ad adopted by the ADO

1979

Championship Point System begun

World Cup II hosted in Las Vegas; first major international darts event outside Great Britain

Nicky Virachkul won gold medal in World Cup II singles

1980

First Pacific Cup playoofs held

Darts handbook written and published

Associate Memberships established

Jerry Umberger won two gold medals – with Kathy Karpowish and K.C. Mullaney – at the Pacific Cup I

World Cup VII team of Eva Grigsby, Paul Lim, Kathy Maloney and Tony Payne won the following medals: bronze medal in ladies’ doubles; gold medal in ladies’ singles (Grisby); bronze medal in men’s doubles and a bronze medal in the men’s singles (Payne)